South Africa’s lost jazz history contains many an overlooked classic. But even within that hidden tradition, there are few albums that suffered such an unlucky fate as Spring, the monumental 1968 debut album by pianist Ibrahim Khalil Shihab, formerly Chris Schilder.

Grammy-nominated vocalist and guitarist ​Becca Stevens​ and acclaimed pianist and composer ​Elan Mehler​ have a friendship that stretches back over a decade. The pair first began playing together in 2009 for Mehler’s record ​The After Suite​ (Brownswood), and toured the US and Europe. During this period Becca guested a couple of times at Elan’s residency in the Swiss Alps. It was a concentrated musical experience, during their stays they would often play for two weeks, four sets a night.

The Owsley Stanley Foundation, in partnership with the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, CA, is pleased to announce the sixth release from Owsley’s storied archive of live concert recordings – Bear’s Sonic Journals: That Which Colors the Mind, a previously unreleased 1970 live concert featuring one of the greatest masters of Indian classical music, Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), accompanied by Indranil Bhattacharya (sitar) and Zakir Hussain (tabla).

Like their music, the personal and creative relationships of Japanese rock & roll deviants Speed, Glue & Shinki were in a state of total disarray during the recording of their eponymous double-vinyl sophomore album in 1972. The ostensible bandleader, guitarist Shinki Chen, was already partially distracted from the proceedings, and original bassist Masayoshi "Glue" Kabe had completely checked out to resume his hobo-like travels, which left preternaturally wired vocalist and drummer Joey "Speed" Smith to jump into the driver's seat and accelerate the band's psychedelic rock school bus right over the cliff of reason.

"My one Leg was in Tokyo, and my other Leg was in London, and I watched in Horror the Horsies rage by and I flew by and the Corn waved and the Trees bowed. This was BaddenedBlackenedTime, as I watched friends spin down and fall and fall—it is hard to keep riding when the structure is sliding. So that’s what I called HorseyTime, and I can still hear their fear. Now, in SADDLE with House of Mythology, C93 are OverMoon to RIDE again with this extended reissue."

Johannes Brahms’ four symphonies were greeted by his contemporaries as the most promising answer to Beethoven’s legendary legacy, and they have remained at the core of the symphonic repertoire ever since. Steering clear of poetic titles and adhering to traditional forms, they are nonetheless full of drama and musical innovation. This digital boxset presents the symphonies in chronological order, performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony under the baton of Marek Janowski, one of the greatest interpreters of German Romantic repertoire.

Dan Nimmer is an American jazz pianist and composer. An old soul in a young body, Dan Nimmer plays with the spirit, the passion and the soul of someone who has been on the planet much longer. With prodigious technique and an innate sense of swing, his playing often recalls that of his own heroes, specifically Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, Erroll Garner and Art Tatum. This release from Venus includes such standards as "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Night and Day", "So In Love", "Fly Me To The Moon", and more! Recommended to fans of straight-ahead piano trio music.